The Sea

People do all kinds of things on the subway to pass the time. When Alan Shulman was 25, he wrote his first major composition… on the New York City subway. Join us today to hear music by Alan Shulman, written in transit between Manhattan and Brooklyn.

It can be a delicate moment when an orchestra names a new music director—orchestras can be a little cool toward new conductors. The Charlotte Symphony has stepped up and welcomed its Music Director Designate with a party atmosphere. We'll hear the fruits of this new partnership on today's show: Kwamé Ryan leads the Charlotte Symphony in a hometown performance.

Anton Bruckner was a late bloomer. He wrote his first major piece at age 40. He built some momentum in his 50s, but musicians, critics, and most audiences at the time didn't fully appreciate his work. Bruckner got his first authentic taste of success with a piece he premiered in 1884 at the age of 60. We'll hear from that work on today's show: Anton Bruckner's Symphony No. 7.

In December 1884, Edvard Grieg premiered a suite of five short celebratory pieces written for his hometown of Bergen, Norway. That suite has become one of his best-known and best-loved works. On today's show, we'll hear Grieg's Holberg Suite from a concert in Skaneateles, New York. 

French composer Elsa Barraine lived through the Nazi occupation of Paris, where she organized concerts to support morale and promote resistance. She also supported Jewish musicians whose very lives were in danger. Barraine believed in music as a force for good in this world. On today's show, we'll take you to a concert in Paris to hear Elsa Barraine's Symphony No. 2.

When Richard Strauss wrote his opera Capriccio in 1942, he didn't do the usual big splashy overture for orchestra. The opera begins with a gentle, reflective piece for only half a dozen string players: two violins, two violas, and two cellos. Tune in today to hear the Sextet for Strings from Richard Strauss’s opera Capriccio.

In December 1884, Edvard Grieg premiered a suite of five short celebratory pieces written for his hometown of Bergen, Norway. That suite has become one of his best-known and best-loved works. On today's show, we'll hear Grieg's Holberg Suite from a concert in Skaneateles, New York. 

Two decades after he wrote his Negro Folk Symphony, composer William Dawson traveled to West Africa. Based on what he heard there, he revised his music to convey “...the missing elements that were lost when Africans came into bondage outside their homeland." On today's show, hear Dawson's Negro Folk Symphony played by The Orchestra Now with conductor Leon Botstein.

On today's show, we'll hear some fascinating new music by Navajo composer Juantio Becenti. Becenti found a unique parallel between the Navajo creation story and his own musical journey. Join us to hear the ensemble A Far Cry play The Glittering World by Juantio Becenti at a concert in Rockport, Massachusetts.

Pianist Kirill Gerstein recently released an album called Music in Time of War. The album includes the Etudes Claude Debussy wrote during the First World War and music by composer and musicologist Komitas, who lived through the Armenian Genocide. Fred Child recently spoke with Gerstein about the project and how it reflects on the world. Join us today for a special hour of music and conversation with Kirill Gerstein.